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Thyroid conditions among the young population in three All Japan newsese prefectures – Aomori, Yamanashi and Nagasaki – are almost the same as in Fukushima Prefecture, according to a survey by the Environment Ministry.

The ministry conducted the study from last November to March this year on a total of 4,365 people aged 3 to 18 in the cities of Hirosaki in Aomori, Kofu in Yamanashi and Nagasaki, and concluded on Friday that the percentages of detecting small lumps and other anomalies in the surveyed population were “almost equal to or slightly lower in Fukushima,” the area that was hit by a nuclear crisis in March 2011.

After the nuclear disaster that occurred two years ago, Fukushima prefecture conducted thyroid tests on about 360,000 people aged under 18. The test found lumps and other problems in about 41.2 percent of the youngsters, creating anxiety among the population, according to Kyodo news agency.

According to the latest survey, the percentage of lumps measuring less than 5 millimeters or cysts smaller than 20 millimeters came to 57.6 percent in Hirosaki, 69.4 percent in Kofu, and 42.5 percent in Nagasaki.